Nail Challenge Week 13: Ruffian Nails

Hi Lovelies! Yes, I am still a week behind, but tomorrow you will see that I am caught up;) For now, I want to show you my Ruffian Nails!

Now, I had *no* idea what "Ruffian Nails" were. "Ruffian" to me sounded like some kind of street urchin in Oliver Twist or something lol. So, I Googled. And I found out: "This manicure is created by Creative Nail Design (CND) especially for the NYFW Ruffian Fashion show. Since then everybody has been calling this manicure the Ruffian, or Ruffian inspired, manicure." To me, it just looks like an upside-down French manicure (if done correctly.)

Mine, however, is not nearly as nice as what it could be. But alas, the whole point of the Nail Challenge is just to try new things! Doesn't mean you'll master it the first time you try!

Here are the polishes I used:

After essie all in one base coat, I applied one coat of Color Club Jackie Oh! (from my March Birchbox!:) This polish goes on so smoothly and perfectly that one coat is all you need! And it is simply stunning!!

After that, one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Black out:

And Hard Candy's Matte Top Coat, so the finished product looks like this!

I love how the matte makes it look! I think these colors together really compliment each other! Clearly I'm not a Ruffian expert (yet), but I really do like the effect; so I may try it again and do some other polishes and techniques as well!

Have you tried this mani? What do you think of it? Do you do it free hand or do you use french tips stickers?